Page 65 of Forbidden Bond

“The things you must know,” Tulip whispered with intrigue and slid forward in her seat. “You could blow the lid off the whole damn crime network, expose them all in a day, in a single article. What would he do?”

“Who?”

“Ire,” Tulip said, sort of groaning the obvious name.

“Conn’s a businessman. Yes, there are things about his work that are not advertised, that doesn’t mean they’re interesting enough to print. And you know the rules, we don’t go after our own, we just don’t.”

Though she would happily if Conn asked her to expose her father’s misdeeds.

“We would if there was a story, if getting the truth out there was necessary.”

Maybe they were made differently. Or maybe young Tulip had never been in a situation where sharing and not was the difference between life and death. Not hers, no. Even if she printed full transcripts of her interactions with the McDades, Conn wouldn’t hurt her. It wasn’t in him. How did she know? Because it wasn’t in her to hurt him either. Physically or with words. Those conversations, the ones she had with him, and whatever she heard in the McDade sphere, were words she’d take to the grave.

“Do you have family?” More than just turning the tables, she genuinely wanted to know more about this woman. “Nearby?”

“Are you threatening me?”

The question wasn’t asked in fear, Tulip seemed affronted, yes, but there was fascination too.

“I don’t threaten people.”

“Hmm.” Tulip’s disbelief came with contempt. “Because your fella does that for you?”

“Conn knows your name because I mentioned it. He has no reason to approach you or anyone connected to you. I’m curious about where you’re from, the source of your interest.”

“I’d never give up a source. The CI wasn’t my source.”

“I know that. Are you going to give me his name?”

“Are you going to tell me why Nicole McDade has a price on her head?”

Playing coy wouldn’t get them anywhere. Tulip discovered that the contract existed on her own.

“Because someone wants her dead.”

“Someone who?” Tulip asked. “I heard it was connected to Whisper Doherty-McDade, and she left the city in a hurry.”

“What does that tell you?”

“A lot when the woman met with Biz McDade, Nicole’s husband, alone. Were they having an affair? Is this jealousy?”

She frowned. “Was who having an affair?”

“Whisper and Biz.”

Instant humor blasted out of her without finesse. It startled Tulip so much that she reared back.

“Want to talk about taking your life in your hands? Never let Whisper know you said that.”

“She has a reputation too.”

“And you never thought what that’s like?” Her eyes widened in question; Tulip responded with a clueless head shake. “Everywhere you go, people think they know you. They watch. Stare. Gawp. Openly pass judgment, assume they know everything there is to know about you.” From their current vantage point, it only took a slight gesture to turn Tulip’sattention to the onlookers in the bullpen. “I’ve worked in this building for years, with a lot of those people for years.”

“Now they’re passing judgment?”

“With my heritage, people have always jumped to conclusions, built their own picture. Now I sleep next to a man with his own heritage, his own reputation. And it’s a major contrast to what they thought they knew of me.”

“Now they don’t know what to think.”

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